| Crash location | 37.953889°N, 107.908611°W |
| Nearest city | Telluride, CO
37.937494°N, 107.812285°W 5.4 miles away |
| Tail number | N253GL |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 23 Nov 2005 |
| Aircraft type | Beech 1900D |
| Additional details: | None |
On November 23, 2005, approximately 1515 mountain standard time, a Beech 1900D, N253GL, operating as Great Lakes Airlines, Flight 5087, sustained minor damage when it was struck by a baggage cart at the Telluride Regional Airport (TEX), Telluride, Colorado. The scheduled, domestic passenger flight from Denver, Colorado, to TEX was being conducted on an instrument flight rules flight plan under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121. The captain, first officer and 17 passengers on board the airplane were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the incident.
According to the captain, they were parked with engines shut down, the parking brake set, and the wheels chocked. He said they kept the passengers on board until some of the bags were off loaded from the aft baggage compartment so as not to overload the landing gear struts. The captain said they opened the door and he got off to meet the agent. The agent approached the airplane driving a tug that was pulling a baggage cart. The captain said, "While turning the corner to line up the baggage cart with the airplane, the baggage cart struck and damaged the left-hand stabilon."
According to the agent driving the tug, he said that the baggage cart he was towing was new and taller when compared to the 2 trailers they had been using at TEX. He said that this was the first time he had towed this cart. The agent said he drove clockwise around the airplane to position the cart to unload the baggage. He said that he was close enough to the airplane that the top right corner of the baggage cart hit the stabilon.
Inspection of the airplane revealed a crack in the lower aft outboard section of the left stabilon. No other damage was found.
The tug driver's failure to maintain adequate clearance from the airplane resulting in the baggage cart striking the airplane's stabilon. A factor contributing to the incident was the tug driver's failure to consider the extra height of the cart in relation to the other carts used on the airport.